Contest: 1 Picture 1 Story Week #72
One Photo, One Million Memories
This photo brings back memories of two years ago, when I took my brother to boarding school. Actually, I posted this photo about two years ago. The location of the photo was taken in front of the gate of Dayah Budi Mesja, which is located in Aceh Jaya Regency. In the photo, my eyes look squinty - a sign of lack of sleep all night. At that time, it was around 9:30 in the morning.
Our family had started traveling from Lhokseumawe City to Aceh Jaya since the night before. The trip started at 10:00 p.m. with one car, while my father and I rode in another vehicle that followed behind. The journey was quite tiring, and we stopped several times to rest and refuel with food. That night was the first time I took my brother to the pesantren, as well as his first day living there.
Dayah Budi Mesja was a longtime dream of my brother. He dreamed of studying there, and finally, in 2022, his wish was fulfilled.
We arrived at Budi Mesja at around 8am. However, I didn't go straight into the dayah. I chose to stop for a moment at a meunasah to rest. At around 09.00, with my head still spinning from lack of sleep, I forced myself to get up, wash my face, and then head to the dayah. There, I met the family who had arrived first by car. After that, I started helping to put things away after the registration at the post was complete.
In one of the photos I took, my eyes still looked squinty from exhaustion. At that time, the dayah was quite crowded. Many parents came to take their children, because it happened that the moment of accepting new students coincided with the completion of the Eid al-Adha celebration. However, the recitation in the dayah was not yet fully active, because there were still many students who had not returned from vacation.
Time passed, and I was still in the dayah area, helping to organize things into cubicles. After everything was done, we sat together in the mushala in the dayah courtyard. There, we rested for about an hour, enjoying drinks and pastries before finally saying goodbye to go home. This photo is not just a picture, but a piece of a story that holds many memories.
That afternoon, after the Zuhr prayer, we were invited to visit the grave of Po Teumeuruhom, which is located not far from the village where the pesantren is located. This tomb is the final resting place of Aceh's past kings. Many stories and history were told there, adding to our insight into the glory of Aceh in the past. It happened to be a Sunday, so the place was quite crowded.
There, I gained a lot of new knowledge about the kings of Aceh and their role in history. The place is not just a tomb, but also a silent witness to the long journey of Aceh's once glorious kingdom.
Before the sun slipped to the west, we were already preparing to leave the Lamno area to go home. Only my brother remained at the pesantren to continue his education. The journey back to Lhokseumawe takes place in the evening, after we stop at the Grand Mosque to perform Isha prayers.
Time continued to pass. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, until now, brother is still at home studying there. All of this is of course thanks to the prayers of the teachers at the recitation hall in the past, as well as the prayers of the parents who never stopped accompanying him. Every time Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha comes around, he always returns home full of happiness. Meeting his family, greeting his teachers, and reminiscing about the long journey he has taken in pursuing religious knowledge.
That's the writing I can share for the Contest: 1 Picture 1 Story Week #72 this time. Thank you for all of you who have come to stop by my post. I invite Mr. @yonaikerurso Mrs. @mvchacin and Mrs. @ulfatulrahmah to participate here.
Wassalam
@cymolan
Cc @suboohi